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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
UGH! I read the whole thing even though I could barely stand Frances' elitist suffering in Tuscany and San Francisco. She's annoying.
If you start reading this book because you love the movie, you may be disappointed. The book is not a cutesy little love story/comedy. Well, it is a love story,but the love is between Frances and Italy. The real Frances is happily attached and is not careening around Italy following a man. She paints a picture of Tuscany that makes me want to go right now. If you want a guidebook that tells you how to see 27 sights in 7 days, don't bother-but, if you want to feel what it is like for this particular person to live deeply and really savor the life around her, then I highly recommend this book.
I also can't wait to try out some of the recipes that she included.
I also can't wait to try out some of the recipes that she included.
I didn't even start it actually... I expected it to be fiction; I didn't realize that this was an autobiographical kind of book.
Book 48 of the PopSugar Reading Challenge: A Book Tied to Your Ancestry
Technically my ancestors are from Sicily, not Tuscany, but I needed something quick for this prompt and I figured this was close enough :)
Frances Mayes is a lovey writer. There were so many beautiful passages in this book. It felt a little long and it dragged on at times which is why I gave it 3 stars. It definitely made me want to travel back to Italy. And be warned- do not read this book when you’re hungry :)
Technically my ancestors are from Sicily, not Tuscany, but I needed something quick for this prompt and I figured this was close enough :)
Frances Mayes is a lovey writer. There were so many beautiful passages in this book. It felt a little long and it dragged on at times which is why I gave it 3 stars. It definitely made me want to travel back to Italy. And be warned- do not read this book when you’re hungry :)
The eponymous movie is one of my favorites, so I was a bit down when it turned out that the only thing they had in common was that a foreign woman purchased a house in Tuscany.
The book, however, has its own wonderful charm in Mayes’ telling of how she and her partner fell in love with the country then found a house and made it a home. She tends to wax a little too poetic at times – there’s an actual line about grapes tasting purple – but it helps build the magic of what she’s describing into a place that you can’t help but dream of running off to.
It’s fun to read about the culture clashes and to fall in love with the charming places and people in her stories. Mayes’ even includes some recipes so you can eat some of the delicious food she’s constantly describing.
A very enjoyable read that made me want to take a trip and find some of the magic she describes.
The book, however, has its own wonderful charm in Mayes’ telling of how she and her partner fell in love with the country then found a house and made it a home. She tends to wax a little too poetic at times – there’s an actual line about grapes tasting purple – but it helps build the magic of what she’s describing into a place that you can’t help but dream of running off to.
It’s fun to read about the culture clashes and to fall in love with the charming places and people in her stories. Mayes’ even includes some recipes so you can eat some of the delicious food she’s constantly describing.
A very enjoyable read that made me want to take a trip and find some of the magic she describes.
Started out beautifully, couldn't put it down, the descriptions of food and beauty! I am inspired in many ways after this book, and looking forward to trying some of the many recipes, but got pretty bogged down after awhile. Felt too long and I started to feel annoyed at her perfect life ha!
I received a copy of France Mayes' "Under the Tuscan Sun" through LT's Early Reviewers program. It's actually not a terribly early review, as this book was published more than two decades ago, but they've just put out a 20th anniversary edition.
Mayes chronicles her purchase of a home in Italy, its renovation and her love for Italian groceries. The story meanders a lot, but I didn't mind that too much.
What this book has going for it is Mayes ability to turn a phrase... she is a lovely writer. The subjects were of interest to me, but I'm somewhat surprised at the love for this book as the tale isn't super strong. (How in the world did they make a movie from this memoir?)
I think Mayes must be insufferable in person -- she says some off-putting things on occasion. While her love of Italian ruins and food comes through, she doesn't seem to have the same fondness for the Italian people -- the only people she talks about interacting with in Italy are ex-pats or the people who sell her groceries and renovate her estate. Sometimes the book comes across as "rich people problems."
At any rate, I did like the book because Italy and renovation of old houses are topics that interest me. However, I didn't like it enough to read anything else by Mayes.
Mayes chronicles her purchase of a home in Italy, its renovation and her love for Italian groceries. The story meanders a lot, but I didn't mind that too much.
What this book has going for it is Mayes ability to turn a phrase... she is a lovely writer. The subjects were of interest to me, but I'm somewhat surprised at the love for this book as the tale isn't super strong. (How in the world did they make a movie from this memoir?)
I think Mayes must be insufferable in person -- she says some off-putting things on occasion. While her love of Italian ruins and food comes through, she doesn't seem to have the same fondness for the Italian people -- the only people she talks about interacting with in Italy are ex-pats or the people who sell her groceries and renovate her estate. Sometimes the book comes across as "rich people problems."
At any rate, I did like the book because Italy and renovation of old houses are topics that interest me. However, I didn't like it enough to read anything else by Mayes.
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
so boring but lovely prose
I read this book right after I vacationed in Italy; so in reading the detailed prose I was able to reminisce about that country. However, the story was nonexistant. What was the plot besides renovating a house??? This is one of the few times where I think the movie (which held little resemblance to the book) was better than the novel.
This book gave me just what I needed at the time - a perfect escape! I've been preparing for a music performance & had little time to read or mental acuity for anything challenging. I've also been suffering from sun deprivation. This book is the perfect antidote to stressful city life in winter (or in Portland Oregon, the season known as "spring"). No plot, no theme, just Mayes & her husband living the life of wealth & privilege in which people blithely buy ruined Italian mansions surrounded by olive trees, & renovate them! Despite that snarky comment, did this book make me want to participate in hard manual labor in that very Italian mansion? YES! Did I want to develop meaningful relationships with Italian and Polish contractors? YES! Did I suddenly have a desire to become a domestic goddess, to fill my wicker basket with fresh ingredients from the farmers market, & go home to invite friends for a simple yet fabulous meal that I prepare while sipping a glass of good wine? YES! Mayes has the touch when it comes to sensual description, putting you right there with the taste of bread & wine, the smell of sun-warmed fruit, the sound of the evening crowds on the piazza, the feel of a breeze as it comes through the window. Great stuff. I noticed that in her Italian life, Mayes takes the time to enjoy the simple things - food, good friends, good wine, weather, the feel of grass beneath her feet. In her book there's no TV, no i-pods, no cell phones, & no computers. Hmmmm - something to think about?! Well - I am unlikely to become domestic italian-cooking goddess, but I can read books like this one & dream about it! I did find one thing to love about Portland as opposed to Italy. We have a definite lack of scorpions here. This makes me happy!